Composite heel for boots and shoes



Dec. 19, 1922. 1,439,564.

- H. J. LUCIER.

COMPOSITE HEEL FOR BOOTS AND SHOES.

FILED FEB-7.1921.

01 12 fa/z Patented Dec. 19, 1922..

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

I HECTOR J. LUCIER, OF fiTOUGHTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

COMPOSITE HEEL r03 oo'rs' AND SHOES;

Application filed February 7, 1921. Serial No. 443,045.

appertains to make and use the invention,

reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to letters orfigures of reference marked thereon, which form apart of thisspecification.

The invention has relation to rubber heels for-boots and shoes, and itconsists in the novel construction and combinations of parts ashereinafter set forth.

In the manufacture of boots and shoes, it is frequently desirable toapply rubber heels to them during the manufacturing operation, so thatwhen the boot or shoe is completed. it is provided with a rubber heelinstead of with a leather heel. In so making 'boots and shoes, it iscommon practice to employ a heel made entirely of rubber and providedwith a concave upper face to fit theheel seat portion ofthe shoe. Such aheel is referred to in the trade as a whole heel.

It; is also commoii practice to provide a shoe with a rubber heel havinga less thickness than the entire height of the heel and commonlyreferred to as half heels.

These half heels are usually made with afiat topsurface and in order toapplyithem to a shoe, it is necessary to build a base of leather or itsequivalent on the heel seat portion of the shoe to form a proper supportfor the attachment of the half heel.

The operation of attaching, either a wholeheel or a half heel to a shoeinvolves the step of cementing the heel either to the heel seat portionof the shoe or to said leather base, and this cementing operationrequires a certain length of time for the cement to set or dry, andtherefore when the heel is attached to the shoe during the process ofmanufacture, the shoe must of necess-ity be laid aside for a time whilethe cement is drying. This delays the manufacturing operation and alsonecessitates the use of considerable storage space for the shoes whilethe'heel cement is drying.

The use of a whole heel of rubber is not always satisfactory, because ofthe difliculty of making a good joint where the top peripheral edgeofthe heel meets the edge of the heelseat portion of the shoe. A rubberheel is more or less elastic and yielding,

and because of the fact that the heel seat portions of different shoesvary somewhat 1n contour, it is not always possibleto attach the heel tothe shoe so as to provide a permanently tight joint between the rubberand the heel seat portion of the shoe. For this reason there are someadvantages in the half heel, with its leather base, because the leatherbase can bemade so that it will always make ta tight joint with the heelseat portion of the shoe, and one which will be invisible and will notopen as the shoe is used. Moreover, since rubber is considerably heavierthan leather, the half heel with its leather base weighs considerablyless than a whole heel of rubber, and this 1s also an advantage. K

.It is one of the objects-of this invent-ion to provide a compositerubber and leather heel which can 'be manufactured separately from theshoe and can be applied to the shoe by a nailing process and. withoutthe necessity of going through the operation of cementing the heel tothe shoe, with the consequent loss of time required for the cement to.dry, and which also has the advantages of the half heel above recited.-

Other novel features or objects will be more particularly pointed out inthe follow,- lng description of a selected embodiment of my invention. Y

In the accompanying drawings, illustrating an embodimentof theinvention:

Figure 1 is acentral longitudinal section of the invention as applied.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the invention, with the leather liftpartly in section. Filgure 3 is a section on the line 33', Figure Figure4 is a detail central longitudinal section of the. leather lift. Y

Figure 5 is a similar view'of the rubber heel. V

Figure 6 is a sectional view of the invention, similar to the showing ofFigure 3, but before attachment to the shoe.

In these drawings the numeral 1 designates a heel body of rubberorrubber compound, and 2 is atop lift of leather or leather substitute,The heel body 1 is mold ed'to the desired shape, and is of lessthickness than the complete or whole heel and of greater-thicknessthanthe half heel. The heel body 1 is molded with its top face 3concavcd in scoop fashion, as will be noted the curved shape of the heelseat portion of the shoe.

If it were attempted to have the lift 2 of uniform thickness throughout,with its top face concaved as above stated, the top face of the rubberbody 1 would, for a proper concavity to fit the heel seat portion of theshoe, have to be concaved to such an extent as to reduce said bodysomuch in thickness that it would interfere with the Washers 5, and ifit were attempted to form the concavity in the top face of the leathertop lift 2 alone, leaving the top face of the rubber body 1 flat orplane, said top lift would be reduced to a rand formation, which iscommon practice today and- Which would .sacrifice an advantage of theleather top lift 2 in that it is relatively stiff and serves to hold:

the rubber body or heel proper-from undue spreading when it isapplied tothe shoe.

Applicant therefore makes the concave top face 6 of the lift2 the sum ofthe concavity of said top face and of the concavity of the top face 3 ofthe rubber body, the curvature.

of the lower face 7 of the lift 2 being'such, relative to the curvatureof the face 6, that the lift is thinner at the middle than at the edgesthereof. The convexity ofthe said lower face 7 is of the same degree asthe concavity of the upper face 3 of the rubber body 1.

The bottom or wear face 4 of the rubber body 1 is formed slightly convextransversely of the heel, and especially at the breast of the heel, saidconvexity being of less degree than that of the concavity 3. Said bodyis provided with'the usual washers 5, imbedded thereinfor the purpose ofreceiving or backing up the heads of the nlails by which the heelissecured to the s 0e.

The lift 2 is of leather or leather-substitute, being of a material thatcan be molded or formed into the desired shape either in-U dependentlyof the rubber body 1 or in the 4 same mold as said body, andwhich' willretain such shape. The top face 6 of the lift 2 has its curvature ofgreater rather than less degree than the curvature of the heel seatportion of the shoe, whereby the driving of the nails through the holesor Washers adjacent to the breast of the heel will flatten the lift 2slightly in conforming it to the shape of the heel seat portion of theshoe, and will press the peripheral or outer edges of said lift firmlyagainst the outer edges of the said heel seat portion. In driving thenails as stated to flatten the top section 2, the convex portion orconvexity of the wear face 4 of heel will have a flat wear face whensecured to the shoe.

When the composite heel is nailed to the shoe it is. necessary that theleather top lift 2 shall be trimmed oflmarginally, to make a neat andtight or flush joint with the innersole 8 of the shoe to which it isnailed, and for this purpose said top lift is extended marginally of therubber body 1, except at the breast of the heel, this marginal extensionbeing shown at 9. In order that the marginal extension 9 shall becapable of being trimmed off to the best advantage in making a flush.joint as stated, the peripheral edge 10 of said extension is madenormally vertical, this being of advantage also in avoiding a groove orany trace of a groove between the rubber body 1 and the inner sole 8,along the upper edge of the lift 2, as

rubber body. having a concave scoop-shape upper face and a leather toplift having a concave upper face and aconvex lower face cemented to theupper face of said body,

said lift being thinner at the-middle than at the edges thereof. 2

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

. HECTOR. J. LUCIER.

Witnesses: v

E. B LAH' RIDEOUT, ESTHER A.'JACKSON.

